Defect diagnosis & repair specifications

For owners, investors or occupiers, building defects represent a significant area of liability. For owners particularly, the concern will be that defects lie outside the tenant’s repairing obligations. For occupiers, the cost of dealing with repairs and any related disruption to the use and occupation of the building will be an important concern and may impact on business continuity or the value of the asset.

A building defect is defined as a material, component or finish which does not meet its expected performance criteria.

Defect diagnosis can relate to problems in all types of buildings. The results of defects and the analysis of how the defects should be put right can occasionally be straightforward, but often requires special techniques and assistance, and a good deal of lateral thinking.

Technical expertise and an understanding of building construction are essential to correctly identify the cause of building defects and the remedial measures required to put the defects right.



An accurate diagnosis of a building defect requires familiarity with the design and construction of a building combined with an understanding of methods of scientific investigation. The precise cause of a building defect and the form of its manifestation must be understood before a realistic remedy can be applied. What is more, it is not enough to examine simply the area of the building in which the defect has appeared, but one must look further - the cause of a defect can often be quite remote from the effects that show up, take time to show up or the severity of the problem may vary with time and the seasons.